United States AttorneyDistrict of Connecticut

Lisbon Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Possessing Firearms Stolen in Burglary Spree

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BERNARD McALLISTER, 43, of Lisbon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 108 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release for stealing and possessing numerous firearms.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2010, McALLISTER and Mark Missino possessed 19 firearms that they had stolen during a string of residential burglaries that took place between 2008 and 2010. The firearms were discovered in an East Lyme storage locker with more than 8,000 other items believed to have been taken during the burglaries.

Prior to November 2010, McALLISTER had been convicted of multiple felony offenses in several states, including burglary, robbery, breaking and entering, and making terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

McALLISTER and Missino have been detained since November 18, 2010, when they were arrested in Massachusetts. On June 6, 2013, McALLISTER pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon. Missino, 46, of Waterford, pleaded guilty to the same charge on January 30, 2014, and awaits sentencing.

McALLISTER and Missino also pleaded guilty in state court to several charges related to the series of residential burglaries.

Judge Underhill ordered McALLISTER’s 108-month federal sentence to run concurrently with his state sentence. McALLISTER is scheduled to be sentenced in state court on April 2, at which time he is expected to receive a sentence of 25 years, execution suspended after 16 years.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Connecticut State Police, the Massachusetts State Police, and the East Lyme, Greenwich, Madison, Guilford, Glastonbury, North Branford and Wallingford Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert M. Spector and Jonathan S. Freimann.